Molten
by speed killz
Summary: Summary: Age 22, Ritsu Tainaka is a welder who finds herself reflecting on her life, the mistakes she made, and where it's gotten her. In the reflection of the coldest steel, she sees the one mistake she could never forget. One-sided Ritsu X Mio.


_Molten_

Summary: Age 22, Ritsu Tainaka is a welder who finds herself reflecting on her life, the mistakes she made, and where it's gotten her. In the reflection of the coldest steel, she sees the one mistake she could never forget. One-sided Ritsu X Mio.

Tainaka Ritsu remembered when she had been filled with a boundless energy. The days of her youth, barely in her teens, living each day however she wanted, doing as she pleased. She regarded school work as just a constraint that needed to be broken, a shackle that could never bound her. Her days were filled with happiness, no matter what she was doing; pounding the drums, hanging out in the Light Music Club, or just being silly. Which tended to happen a lot.

A rueful smirk crossed her face as she eased onto the brakes of her 1-ton Dodge turbo-diesel pick-up truck, braking slowly and a bit unsure, as she tried to find the new jobsite in the dark.

Her smirk only widened as she shook her head, taking her hand off the shifter to pick up a cup of coffee and carefully raise it to her lips. These days, her boundless energy was non-existent. Her youth had faded into the background, little more than white noise in the background of everyday life. Most of her memories, she actively suppressed, focusing on the here-and-now in an attempt to forget that most of her childhood had ever existed. Most days, it was easy. Yet some days...

She carefully replaced the cup of still-hot coffee back in the cupholder, then slipped the shifter into second gear. Spotting Road 512, she smoothly pressed the brakes and flicked on her left turn signal. The sky was pitch black, stars piercing the otherwise impenetrable blanket of darkness, and in the distance she could see no headlights signalling an approach, so she slipped her truck into first, and eased off the clutch. The heavily laden truck eased around the corner, and when she had the truck straightened out, she pushed the pedal to the floor. There was a seconds' lag, then the whistling of forced induction met her ears as the turbo spooled up, and if it were daytime, she was sure she would see her twin exhaust pipes spewing thick dark diesel smoke.

The engine noise was nearly deafening inside the cabin as she approached the relatively low redline of 4750 revolutions per minute, and she held it as long as she dared before throwing in the clutch and aggressively shifting into second gear. She knew she should drive a little more carefully, especially laden down with all her welding equipment, but these days, she had trouble caring about anything.

She rowed through the gears until her engine settled down, but it didn't last long as she immediately began downshifting as she saw the turn up ahead that she needed. Slowing her truck almost to a stop, the naturally brown-dyed-black-haired woman gently made her turn onto the muddy, rut-filled road that served as an access road to the school they were building. Today, she didn't have much to do, she knew, as she drove around to the side of the half-erected frame-work.

She was going to set up for some cutting, and get rid of some bracing that wasn't needed now that she had finished up her welds yesterday.

She let her truck idle in neutral with the park brake on for about ten minutes, while she sipped her coffee and waited for the sun to rise. She wasn't the first one on site, she noted, but she was pretty close. The only other activity was some workers running skid-steers around the base of the school on the north side, clearing away rubble and creating a smooth working surface. She watched them work for a while, listening to the drone of their diesel engines as they turned, moved, lifted and dumped dirt and gravel, watched their powerful lights cut through the darkness with each carefully controlled movement

All too soon, her coffee cup was empty. Still no sign of the sun. Damn. Guess it was time to get to work...

Shutting off her truck, she left her keys in the ignition and hopped out, falling a few inches to the ground due to the lift she had put on her truck some months ago. Pulling a black bandanna out of her back pocket, Ritsu ran her fingers through her shoulder length jet-black hair before tying it back and covering it with the bandanna. Moving to the rear of her truck, she dropped her tailgate and hopped up onto it. Unlocking her job box, she pulled out the old familiar oxy-acetylene cutting torch and faded, dirty red and green hoses, attached to regulators. Closing the job box with her foot, she set the torch down and unscrewed the caps to her oxygen tank and acetylene tank. Sighing softly to herself, she set about the task of setting up her regulators and flashback arrestors.

_Molten_

It was some time later when Ritsu found herself suspended from a fall arrest harness, dangling from a girder over the side of a building, torch in hand and striker clenched between her teeth. She spared a glance toward the ground, some four stories beneath her, and noted once again the array of machinery buzzing along beneath her, the yellow, white, and faded grey of construction hard hats mere spots moving along the ground like the march of ants.

She supposed, in some corner of her mind, that she should be worried; worried of burning herself, worried of falling, worried about a flashback arrestor failure and a tank explosion...she just didn't care. Eyes following the trail of her hoses down to ground level where they connected to the tanks mounted to her truck, she shrugged.

Nothing really mattered, did it?

Twisting the valve open on her torch, she struck a bright orange acetylene flame, adjusting it to remove the smokyness. Cracking the oxygen valve a half-turn, she used the fine mixture valve to get a bright blue flame with an inch long inner cone of even brighter flame. Flipping down her welding mask with a lighter filter installed, she moved the flame over the first piece of metal. As the blistering flame washed over the cold, dark steel, Ritsu found herself lost in the mesmerizing sight of the flame, thoughts disappearing and temporarily forgetting her slight melancholy.

The first few pieces of steel were cut effortlessly, and didn't take long. However, the sun was now rising, and as the first few tendrils of light hit the dark greyish steel, Ritsu wordlessly shut off her torch, and clipped it to her belt. Staring at hardened steel, she fought a valiant, yet futile battle against memories she had tried so hard to forget. She was used to cutting bare-handed, so now, she raised a hand to her face and rubbed her forehead through her bandanna. Growing frustrated with the material for some reason she couldn't quite figure out, she tore it from her hair and let her shoulder length locks flutter free. Forgotten and forlorn, her black bandanna freed itself from her grasp and floated to the ground, unnoticed.

This wasn't the first time that wintery grey steel brought up memories better left forgotten...

* * *

_"C'mon, it'll be fun!" A tawny-haired girl pleads, tugging ineffectually at her friend's shirt. Said friend sends her a pointed look, before the tawny-haired girl's hand falls away._

_"Mio, please. For me? It'll be the best birthday ever, I promise! There's nothing to worry about!"_

_The raven-haired girl, tall and pretty, with wide grey eyes, simply stares in return, those dark grey orbs flecked with lighter grey speaking volumes about how much there was to worry about._

_"Ritsu, I don't think it's a very good idea..."_

_Ritsu sighs, running a hand through her hair in exasperation._

_"Pleeeease? Just for me? I promise I won't let anything happen to you, I promise! I just wanna have fun!"_

_There is a second where Mio shifts from one leg to the other; a physical manifestation of her mind slowly changing, and Ritsu knows she has her. She has seen the gesture too many times, followed by-_

_"Fine. Just this once. And you better stay by my side and protect me!" Mio sighs, folding her arms across her chest as her friend squeals in delight, jumping up and hugging her tightly. _

_"You're the best Mio! You aren't gonna regret this, I promise!"_

* * *

Ritsu bit her lip as pain flooded through her heart at the memory. That party had been the worst idea she'd ever had. She shouldn't have gone. If she didn't, then maybe...

She braced her feet against the steel ledge, and adjusted the harness that was digging into her leg. Unclipping her torch from her belt, she struck another flame, and expertly adjusted it. With the hissing of the torch in her ears, she gazed thoughtfully at the section of steel she had to cut out. Mockingly, it stretched out in front of her, strong and unbreakable. If left alone, it would remain for a long time, unaffected by almost anything.

Ritsu smirked. So unlike her Mio, she thought. Poor Mio, weak, and cowardly. Gentle and soft, yet somehow strong, on her own. A different kind of strong, but strong nonetheless.

_I can fix that._ Ritsu thought, turning the heat of her torch on the steel. A few seconds later, and it was glowing cherry red. Hitting the lever for her oxygen, a steady stream blasted forth from the cutting tip, blasting the molten metal out, sparks and chunks of hot metal splashing up and hitting her arms. Distantly, she felt the burning on her skin, but she had trouble caring.

All she could see reflected in that cold metal was Mio's gaze, steely and cold, glaring at her.

Ritsu gritted her teeth, not even seeing the piece she was working on anymore as memories from the past clouded her vision.

* * *

_She has drank way too much; she knows it. She has missed the mark completely. She is only supposed to drink enough to be fun. Now, she is well past that, and she is downing shot after shot, with a glass of beer in each hand. If someone hands her a drink, she drinks it, and out of the corner of her eye, she can see Mio leaning up against the wall, too scared to talk to anyone, and too scared to leave the room and put Ritsu out of her line of sight. _

_Ritsu ignores her, laughing at all the things that aren't very funny and trying desperately to stand still without falling over. _

_"Find me a drumset!" She shouts suddenly. "Find me a drumset and I'll rock your world!"_

_Again, she can see Mio shaking her head, and as she throws back a shot of vodka, she decides enough is enough. Wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, she saunters over, feeling way more confident than she ever has before near her secret crush._

_"Heeey, Mio! Whatcha doin' over here all by yourself?" She asks, leaning up against the wall and smiling at Mio. Mio wrinkles her nose at the scent of alcohol, and looks around nervously._

_"Don't draw attention to me!" She hisses angrily, glaring at Ritsu. _

_Ritsu shrugs. "Come on, lighten up. I promised it would be fun, but it won't be if you don't have any fun!"_

_"That...doesn't...make any sense..." Mio trails off, watching as Ritsu's eyes temporarily leave her own to gaze elsewhere over her shoulder. They linger away for a little too long, showing her distraction, and Mio wonders what she is so distracted by. Glancing over her shoulder, she can't spot anything particularly interesting. A not so good-looking guy, and a girl bending over, drunkenly trying to pick up her phone that she had dropped. Realizing she was staring down the girl's low cut shirt, Mio quickly looks away, turning her gaze back to Ritsu._

_"Want me to get you something to drink?" Ritsu asks, hoping Mio hasn't caught her staring down the girl's shirt, but not really caring all that much in her current state. _

_Mio shakes her head resolutely. "No. I will not drink."_

_"Something non-alcoholic." Ritsu insists._

_A sigh. "Fine."_

_Ritsu grins, and happily scampers away._

* * *

Ritsu's torch easily cut through the last of the steel, and she watched as it dropped, falling to the ground far below. She had already roped off the area beneath her, alerting other workers to the falling steel and slag, so she had no worry that it would strike someone. As the steel beam struck the ground below with a hollow clang, Ritsu turned her gaze to the remaining severed angle bar, end still glowing cherry red. Even from a foot away, she could feel the residual heat emanating from it. It was hot, painfully so, but nothing could compare to the heat of her skin...

* * *

_The raven-haired girl hits the darkened bed with a muffled thump, giggling as another girl falls on top of her. Far too gone to object, Mio can only moan in pleasure as Ritsu kisses her neck, wet tongue trailing down Mio's throat, Mio's skin searing hot to the touch. Everything about Mio is hot, from her panting moans of pleasure to the way she frustratingly begs for more when Ritsu teasingly pulls away. Ritsu can barely control herself, wanting so badly to tear Mio's clothes off, but she likes this girl, so she waits. Takes her time. Slowly, painfully._

_Mio breathes Ritsu's name as Ritsu's hand finds it's way between Mio's legs, and as Ritsu gently rubs in a circular motion, Mio's breaths are turned to moans. _

_Ritsu smiles as she presses her lips against Mio's neck. She has the girl right where she wants her. She knew that cup of spiked Pepsi would loosen up her friend..._

_Mio's pants and moans are music to her ears as she kisses her way down Mio's body. She had wanted for so long to do this, that now she trembles at every touch, not believing that she finally has Mio beneath her like she has always dreamed of._

_Soon, the breaths turn rhythmic, and Ritsu finally has the taste in her mouth that she's longed for, and her fingers are soaked with Mio's hot, tight embrace. _

_Mio moans Ritsu's name over and over. Panting breaths of lust and need fill the room, only cut off when Ritsu leans up to capture Mio's mouth with her own in a wet, passionate kiss. When she breaks the kiss to let her tongue wander south, Mio's gasps of breath come quicker, fueled by lack of oxygen and the flood of ecstasy running through her body._

_The creamy smooth skin of Mio's toned thighs caresses Ritsu's cheek as she leans down, swiping her tongue up Mio's-_

* * *

Angrily, Ritsu slammed her fist into the metal bracing she was supposed to be cutting out, the wind ruffling her hair gently as if to to try to pacify her. Her breaths were coming in sharp, quick inhales and exhales now, and anger and fury coursed through her veins. Growling loudly, she slammed her bare fist into the metal. Again. Over and over, the dull metallic clinking of her ring never even registering in her ears as she focused on the pain developing in her fist. This was all she ever saw. Mio's hate-filled gaze tearing her down, reflected in every piece of metal she saw, dark and haunting. She stopped pounding on the metal, gasping for breath as her heart raced, trying to calm herself down. Cradling her hand, she glared at the metal in front of her, looking but not seeing.

She had made a career out of fixing things. She was a top notch welder, and had fixed everything from structural steel on building to aircraft parts. Hell, she'd even done her diver's just to see what underwater welding was like. The one thing she so desperately wanted to fix, she couldn't. It tore at her, reminding her every day that the only thing she'd truly ever wanted, she'd pushed so far away that she would never get it back.

* * *

_Ritsu awakes very suddenly, feeling sharp blows to her back, punctuated by cursing. _

_"What the fuck did you do?" Mio growls, voice rising sharply. Disoriented, Ritsu turns over and rubs sleep from her eyes. _

_"Mio, what are you talking about?" Ritsu asks, yawning. When she opens her eyes, she realizes that they both are naked; memories of the night before come flooding back as Ristu spots the trail of dark hickies across Mio's neck. _

_She has no time to say anything; Mio's fist collides with Ritsu's cheek, the first real punch the girl has ever thrown in a serious fit of anger. Mio's teeth clench as she tightens her jaw, dark eyes a storm of emotion as her messy hair cascades around her shoulders and down her back. She's insanely beautiful, Ritsu has time to think, as she reaches up to wipe away the blood trickling down her lip. Her cheek feels like a bruise is already forming, but she pays it no heed as she tries to placate Mio._

_"Mio, listen, I-" Ritsu begins ineffectually, only to be cut off by the angry girl._

_"I told you I didn't want to come here!" The raven-haired girl screams, covering up her chest with the blanket, unsure of whose bed she's currently in. "I fucking told you!"_

_"Mio, calm down!"_

_"No, Ritsu! I won't calm down! Don't you understand? I'm not like you!"_

_Ritsu flinches, feeling her heart ache at those words, knowing exactly what she means by them. _

_"That's a low blow, Mio..." Ritsu mumbles, lowering her eyes to her lap to hide the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. _

_"And what you did to me wasn't?" Mio raises her hand again, and Ritsu can't even react in time as her open palm meets her face. The stinging on her face has nothing on the pain in her heart._

_"I'm not like you, Ritsu. I never will be."_

* * *

A/N: I don't know if I like this one all that much. Kind of thought of it while I was cutting steel at work the other night, boredom setting in during the fourteen hour shift. Meh, maybe some plot bunnies shouldn't be entertained. Who knows, it's written now. First real attempt at writing in present tense, so if it seems weird, my apologies. Reviews, thoughts, criticism, all welcomed. I'm trying to become half as good as some of the other writers I see on this site.


End file.
